Aircraft pickup and delivery apparatus



y L. s. ADAMs 2,282,921

AIRCRAFT PICK-UP AND DELIVERY APPARATUS Filed Nov. 12, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 inventor B25 attorneys y 12, 1942- I L. s. ADAMS 2,282,921

AIRCRAFT PICK-UP AND DELIVERY APPARATUS Filed Nov. 12, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 2 Dnpentor 3:02 ,59 v a 4 3k dA/M 31 MWM to attorneys May 12, 1942. L. s. ADAMS 2,282,921

' AIRCRAFT PICK-UP AND DELIVERY APPARATUS Filed Nov. -l2, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 flu attomegs atented May 32,

. this"; is. seams,

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dppiieaticn November 1 This invention relates to"aircraft pickup and delivery apparatus and "comprises improvements in a combined grappling and releasing hook, and also in the ground apparatus and hoisting mechanism carriedby'theaircraft', for enabling loads to be simultaneously picked up and discharged without undue shock upon 'the'ai'rcraft and with minimum attention"fromthe-al-rcraft crew and ground attendant.-

Other objects andadvantages of the invention are the reduction-of the length of the trailing cable and conne'ctions reiziui'red for picking up the ascending-load, increased certainty of operative contact hetw'een-the-grapple and ground apparatus, and highersafe flying speed.

The invention furth'eraimsto improve the functioning of the differentparts of the appaq ratus, to reduce the wear and 'tear upon the parts most subject te mini-y, and to lessen the time and eflort-reduirdfto'make ready for con tact with the ground infthe' normal functioning of the apparatusi' In'the illustrative" 'embodiment oi: the 'invention shown in the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation, of 'a'pair of launching masts shq' fii d bag ahd pickup rope in position to be engaged by a grapple, the dotted lines indicatingthe bagand other' parts before being hoisted'fitom the giol'iridi Fig. 2 is aplan view of 'thesame, the dotted lines indicating an alternative setting of the masts for an aircraftapproaching from the opposite directionj I i Fig. 3 isa longitudinal view througha portion of an aircraft, showing the hoisting reel in side elevation with thegtrailing; cable and mimic paid out in normal .P Sitionfor delivering and pic in u a ds a Fig. 4 is arear elevation of a portion of the,

mt a rat 2, was, Serial No. season lei. ass-1) grapple, showing the detachable connection in looking position.

The ground apparatus, as shown in Figs. .1 and 2, comprises two masts or supports H, preferably hollow from end to end, pivoted at their bases in hollow posts i2, set in the ground about twenty to thirty feet apart, or embedded in con-r crate or otherwise firmly secured. The masts are bento'r. inclined at an oblique'angle to bring their tops to within about ten feet of each other in the normal position of the masts, making an angle of about 45 to the line of flight of the aircraft, in whichever direction the craft is expected to pass. the masts being rotatable through an arc. of 90? or so for this purpose, as shown in Figs 2. Pins 53 are provided for securing the meats in the desired angular position with re- Y spect to the line of flight, these pins passing reel and shock absorbing; mechanism, showing Fig. 9 is a side"view-- of -a -'p ortion of the through alining holes is in the masts and posts, there being as many sets of holes as are needed for the difierent settings of the masts.

At the upper ends of the masts are pulleys l5 (see Fig. 6) over which run the hoist lines it for elevating the mail or express pouch I1 and launching. devices from the ground where the parts are assembled. The hoist lines pass through the hollow masts to drums it upon which they may be wound simultaneously, the winding drums for convenience being located upon one of the masts and the hoist line to the other mast passing through a pipe is under the ground between the hollow posts l2. suitable cranksfidand ratchet devices 2! are provided for turning and holding the drums l8 to secure the launching devices and bag in elevated position.

Each of the hoist lines it is secured to a heavy base-member 22, provided with a deep slot 23 across one face to engage the edge of the pulley wand adjacent side of the mast and hold it in definite angular position with respect thereto when hoisted as iar a it will go, the point of attachment of the hoist line It to the base being near the upper end of this slot in the normal position .of the launching devices ready for the aircraft to pick up the pouch. The bases 22 are made right and left hand and each base has an arm ZS-projecting from its side in the direction away from the line of flight of the aircraft, at'

tachments to the arms 24 may be made with 7 light string or'other easily breakable form of tie. A second pouch may be secured to the other end of the rope 26 if desired, thereby dividing the weight to be raised. A hook 28, opening away I from the slotted side of the base 22, is also provided for supporting the pouch after it leaves the ground until it is picked up by the passing aircraft, thus relieving most of thestrain on the temporary fastenings for the ends of the rope 26.

The means for picking up the knotted rope 2i and its load is a grapple 30, trailed below the aircraft on a cable 3| which may be reeled in and paid out by means of a drum 32 mounted in the craft and controlled by a brake 23. and

suitable reducing gearing 34 operated by a crank 35, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Normally the cable is wound on the drum with the grapple stowed inside the aircraft, but in preparing to deliver a pouch and pick up another the descending pouch 36 is attached to the grapple by a releasable tie-31 and the cable 3| is allowed to unwind until twenty-five to fifty feet have been reduce the shock which would otherwise be transmitted to the cable and aircraft when the grapple encountersany fixed object.

The grapple is provided with a plurality of arms 54, four being shown in the illustrative example, welded or otherwise integrally secured upon a sliding sleeve surrounding the tubular paid out through the guide block 38 at which aircraft frame is adjustable to permit the tubes to be raised and lowered and to permit adjust-- ment of the angle that the tubes and guide block make to the horizontal. Within the tubes 42 are compression springs 44 surrounding the, bars 4| and each abutting against a flange 45 at the inner endthereof, so as to provide uniform resistance to the outward and downward movement of the bars and guide block when the grapple encounters an obstacle or hooks on to a pouch to be picked up. The upper ends of the bars 4| are fitted with plungers 46 and the lower ends of the tubes 42 are closed by guide sleeves 41 provided with small orifices for permitting air to escape slowly from the tube during the rapid movement of the guide rods, the trapped air-assisting in cushioning the shock on the aircraft.

The upper ends of the tubes 42 are closed by adjustable screw plugs 48, as shown in Fig. 5, which may be adjusted to cover more or less comstem of the grapple. The arms make a sharp angle with this sleeve and are curved inwardly at their tips to approach the sleeve sufficiently to avoid digging into the ground or other fixed objects should the grapple scrape against them while being trailed from the moving aircraft. Between the arms and stem of the grapple are notches il shaped to grip and securely hold the pick-up rope 20, These notches may be integrally formed on the arms, as shown in Fig. 3, or they may be formed by spring pressed hoods 58 pinned on the arms and normally held in gripping position by springs 59, as shown in Fig.

8. The operation of the notches is the same in both forms of device, the rope Jamming into a notch when it is engaged by the grapple and being retained there by .friction of the parts until it is disengaged by pressing down the hood 58 or by forcibly withdrawing it from the notch.

The pouch 34 to be delivered is detachably secured to the lower end of the grapple by means of the short tie or flexible connection 31 looped through a ring 4| which passes through a heavy strap 62 or other fitting rivetted to the fiber nose protector 3 of the pouch, which is preferably streamlined to reduce the resistance of the air to its passage through it. One end of the flexible tie connection ll is passed through the open lower end of the sleeve 56 and is secured to the lower end 44 of the main stem of the grapple.

.The free end of the tie is-provided with an enlargement, such as the steel ball i5, as shown in pletely the air vents 49 in the side of each tube near its extremity, thereby permitting the springs 44 to retract the bars 4| slowly after each downward movement thereof, and preventing violent recoil which might otherwise throw the grapple upward into the aircraft with sufflcient force to do damage to some part of it. In bumpy air this shock absorber mechanism largely prevents irregular movements of the aircraft from whipping the grapple and attached pouch around in the air, and perhaps fouling some vital part of the structure or control mechanism.

The grapple 30 is provided with a conical point or tip 50 where it is attached to-the cable 3| for permitting the latter to be reeled up until the grapple engages the guide block 38, whereupon the tip 50 slides upon the sloping lower face 5| of the guide block, lifting the cable out of the guide groove 40 and permitting the grapple and its load to be hoisted into the aircraft body. The.

lower end of the cable 3| within the hollow stem of the grapple is secured to a washer 52, and a compression spring 53 is interposed between this washer and the inner end of the point 50 to Fig. 8, which may be inserted through an opening 69 in the sleeve 5 into a notch III in the side of the main stem when the outer sleeve 55 is rotated sufiiciently to expose it.

The inner stem and outer sleeve 56 are connected by a pin H in the inner stem sliding in an inclined slot 12 in the outer sleeve, so as to cause simultaneous rotation and lengthwis sliding movement of the sleeve on the stem when the sleeve is pulled down, as by the grapple engaging i a pickup rope or other object offering resistance to its forward movement. The spring 13, one end of which is secured to the end 64 of the inner stemand the other end is secured to a bar 14 across the lower end of the sleeve 56, normally retains the outer sleeve 5 in its uppermost position on the inner stem to hold the ball 65 in the notch ll, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

The operation of the launching device and grapple to deliver one pouch and pick up another is entirely automatic after the parts are set in position for making contact, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. As the aircraft passes rapidly over the stretched rope" with the trailing cable 3| paid out to the stop position and the pouch 36 suspended behind the grapple, unless the craft is very nearly over the mid-line of the ground apparatus the cable will contact with one or the other of the inclined masts II and slide along the mast to its extremity, where it will slip off and engage the knotted pick-up rope 26, breaking it away from the adjacent arms 24 and causing the free end to wrap around the cable forming a bight or loop through which the cable slides until the grapple engages the bight and the rope jams into one of the notches 51 and is the stem dfthegrapple andcausedto rotate suifi lytheireonio e o the e l-6 i- Pe m t n it to-esca eiremli a es i e ri s the .end of the tie 31 andfreeing the'descengiins pouch. 36,; which falls ;to the. ground almost, at the-,same, instant that the forward movement of the grapple straightens out. the ,slack inthe pickup rope and pulls the pouch off from the hook 2e, theknots 21 insuring that the rope does notsnp nroiieh the. notch in which it is caught. The'entireoperation proceeds so swiftly that one pouch is entirely free fromthe grapple before the other is hooked on, and the drag on the cable is maintained almost without interruption, although increased momentarily until the picked up pouch has attained the speed of the aircraft,

this-increased drag bein'gabsorbed by-the springs +11. -tn ;i b tbiii sai no ti m 5 y of the grapple, the outer., sleeve,thereof will be pulled down ortothe rear withthe, reference to in the shock 'absorbertubes-without P g;

ing up a pouch without delivering another, and for delivering a pouch without picking up another, in the latter case a knotted rope with no pouch being stretched across from one launching arm go to theother fandfastenedtemporarily just as thoughfla Tpouch were attached to it, The heavy thereby avoiding "danger to the aircraft from more closely approaching the ground in places not suitable for landing and taking off, and also avoiding danger from a longer length of trailing cable which might be difiicult to reel in fast enough to avoid fouling obstacles surrounding a small field or short runway otherwise suitable for pickup and delivery purposes.

I claim the following as my invention:

1. Aircraft apparatus for picking up articles comprising an aircraft, a trailing cable suspended from the air-craft, said cable being connected to the stem of a grapple having a plurality of arms making less than a right angle to the stem. of the grapple above their points of attachment thereto, and holding means presenting a restricted opening between the arm and stem adapted to receive and hold a rope, comprising sheet metal hoods each embracing the upper side of the adjacent arm and hinged thereto at its end remote from said stem, and spring means undue strain on any part of the apparatus. a

The apparatus functions equally well for pickother end, a recess in said body for receiving one tioned therein, and means for normally restrain- 1 for normally holding the free end of said hol means away from the arm upon which it is pivoted and'in proximity to said stem.

2. A grapple for automatically delivering articles from moving aircraft comprising a stem, contact members mounted thereon for i movement relative thereto, and a flexible tie member for attaching the article to be delivered, said tie member being provided with'connections 'to said stem at both its ends, one only of said connecnected with said movable contact members for be for receiving the free end of said tie mem; be means slidably disposed on said hollow bod for contacting a ropelike tripping element, said slidable means normally overlying said recess to retain the end of the tie member positioned .;therein, and means for normally restraining said {slidable means from moving so as to uncover said 5. A grapple for automatically delivering a r;

ticles from moving aircraft comprising a hollow body adapted to be secured to a trailing cable. at one end and provided witha flexible tie member for supporting the article to be delivered at the end of said tie member, means slidably and r0,- tatably disposed on said hollow body for contact,- ing a rope-like tripping element, said contacting means having a portion normally overlying said recess to retain the end of the tie member posizing said contacting means from moving so as to uncover said recess sufficiently to permit said tie member to be withdrawn therefrom, said contacting means and hollow body being connected by means providing for simultaneous sliding and rotating movement upon the impact of the former against a ropelike body while the latter is being trailed from an aircraft.

6. Aircraft pickup and delivery apparatus comprising a trailing cable and means for hauling it into the aircraft, a cable guide mounted on the aircraft having a notch, an enlargement on said movable cable adapted to seat in said notch to prevent said cable from running out, a resilient support for said guide, anti-recoil means for said support and guide, said resilient support and anti-recoil means operating to control the movement of said cable when seated in said notch, a-

grapple on the trailing end of said cable, said grapple comprising a body having contact memtie while permitting a slight impedance of the releasing said detachable connection, said means forward movement of the contact members to release said tie.

7. Aircraft pickup and delivery apparatus comprising a trailing cable and means for hauling it into the aircraft, a movable cable guide mounted on the aircraft having a stop, means on said cable for engaging said stop to prevent the cable from running'out, a resilient support for said guide and anti-recoil means for said support and guide, said resilient support and anti-recoil means operating to control the movement of said cable when seated in said notch, a grapple on the trailing end of said cable, said grapple comprising a body having contact arms movably mounted thereon and a detachable support for an article to be delivered, means associated with said arms for engaging and securely holding a ropelike support for an article to be pickedup, means associated with said arms for releasing said detachable support when they engage a support for an article to be picked up, whereby the weight of the picked up article approximately makes up for the weight of the to be delivered article as one is engaged and the other is released, and momentary changes in the pull on the trailing cable are compensated for by the resilient support and anti-recoil means.

8. Aircraft apparatus for picking up articles comprising a trailing cable suspended from the aircraft provided with a grapple near its extremity, spaced supports for spreading a rope across the path of flight of the aircraft, the extremities of said supports being inclined toward-the line of flight and turned away from the direction of flight at an angle thereto of less than 90 to form upwardly converging guide portions for said cable and grapple approaching along the line of flight, outwardly splayed spreaders detachably connected to the extremities of said supports, and a rope stretched between said spreaders and extending laterally to each side of the line of flight beyond the ends of the guide portions of said supports, thereby protecting the ends of the rope from contact with said cable.

9. Supports as described in claim 8 consisting of hollow masts having their extremities provided with pulleys and hoist lines housed within the masts and passing over said pulleys, openings in of hollow masts having their extremities provided with pulleys and hoist lines housed within the masts and passing over said pulleys, openings in the sides of said masts opposite said pulleys and r mote from the line of flight, throughwhich o enings the hoist lines emerge, said spreaders b ing attached to said hoist lines 'a'nd having aiming grooves in their base portionsfor engaging fixed parts of said masts adjacent said openings to maintain said spreaders in widespread alinement with said rope.

of the grapple above their points of attachment thereto, and detents pivoted to said arms at intermediate points above said points of attachment, said detents having their free ends extending toward and spaced from said stem to provide notch-like restricted spaces between said detents, arms and stem adapted to receive and hold a rope, in combination with ground supported apparatus comprising a short rope stretched across the path of flight of said aircraft to which rope an article may be attached.

12. Aircraft apparatus for picking up articles comprising an aircraft, a trailing cable suspended from the aircraft, said cable being connected to the stem'of a grapple having a plurality of arms making less than a right angle to the stem of the grapple above their points of attachment thereto, and shields embracing and attached to the arms adjacent to said points of attachment and each spaced therefrom to present a restricted opening between the .arm and stem adapted to receive and hold a rope, the outer ends of said arms being bent upward and inward towards said stem and terminating at points spaced therefrom sufficiently not to interfere with the passage of a rope transversely disposed with respect to the direction of movement of said grapple, whereby entanglement of said arms with large objects is prevented. 13. Aircraft apparatus for picking up articles comprising an aircraft, a trailing cable suspended from the aircraft, said cable being connected to the stem of a grapple having a plurality of arms making less than a right angle to the' stem of the grapple above their points of attachment thereto, and movable shields attached to said arms adjacent to said stem, and each presenting in one of its positions a restricted opening between the arm to which it is attached and said stem adapted to prevent escape of a rope engaged therein, in combination with spaced supports for spreading a rope across the line of flight of said aircraft and a rope detachably supported thereby in position to be engaged by said grapple.

14. Aircraft apparatus for picking up articles comprising an aircraft, a trailing cable suspended ll. Aircraft-apparatus for. picking up articles comprising an aircraft, a trailing cable suspended from the aircraft, said cable being connected to the stem of a grapple having a plurality of arms making less than a right angle to the stem from the aircraft, said cable being connected to the stem of a grapple having a plurality of arms making less than a right angle to the stem of adjacent its ends.

15. Aircraft article pickup apparatus as described in claim 14 comprising a rope provided witdl; enlargements intermediate and adjacent its en LYTLE S. ADAMS. 

